Vsauce is a YouTube channel brand created by internet personality Michael Stevens.[1] The channels feature videos relating to various scientific and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, culture, and other topics of general interest.[2][3][4][5][6]

On June 24, 2010, Michael Stevens launched the main Vsauce channel.[7] Initially, the channel's programming focused on video games and featured a number of different hosts.[8] However, certain segments such as "IMG!" slowly took over and Michael Stevens became the sole host. The channel then graduated to a mix of information and online activities, and solely educational segments popped up. The educational segments became more popular, and since September 9, 2012, only the educational segment (known as DOT) has been presented.[9] According to episode #18 of "LÜT" on the original Vsauce channel, the name "Vsauce" was generated using the fake website generator portion of a site called Fake Name Generator. After Stevens generated the fake website "Vsauce.com" he registered it and began uploading videos.[10]

In December 2010, the Vsauce2 (on December 7), and Vsauce3 (on December 24) channels were opened.[11][12] On July 25, 2012, the WeSauce channel was opened.[13]

Vsauce was one of the fastest growing channels during September 2012.[14] During that month, the main Vsauce channel reached 1 million subscribers.[15][16] In the same month, Bill Nye appeared in one of the main channel's videos, which focused on the joke, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"[17]

The former logo, based on Guinta's designs.

Stevens details in the video A Defense of Comic Sans that the text font Alsina was used by the Vsauce channels because of the close resemblance it has to the handwriting of Nik Guinta, the creator of the original Vsauce logo.[18] A new branding scheme designed by Natasha Jen was adopted in December 2014 in order to bring a new, 'grown-up' feel to the channels. It utilizes the Din Next Rounded font as well as fluid designs in order to convey the idea of sauce that the name "Vsauce" implies.[19]

The main Vsauce channel, also known as Vsauce1 to distinguish it from the series as a whole and the other channels, is presented by the founder, Michael Stevens, and features videos about facts on various aspects of science, mathematics, anthropology, and philosophy. The primary series, DOT., features Stevens discussing a topic or question in a tangential manner, with various interpretations of the question and including related facts and observations.[21][22] Stevens has stated he researches on Wikipedia and academic papers to find information for his videos.[23]

Vsauce2[33] is a channel that has eight recurring segments which cover unusual knowledge and technology:[34]MindBlow, FAK, BiDiPi, Thought Glass, WAC, 54321, BOAT, and Weirdos of the Month. Vsauce2 also includes The Vsauce2 Leanback. ( A Vsauce leanback is a playlist created by the host of the respective channel which includes a number of Youtube videos of various channels all revolving around the same topic. There are small clips introducing the viewer to the next video by the host himself which are only accessible through the playlist.)[further explanation needed]. Kevin Lieber is the main host of the Vsauce2 channel.[35]

MindBlow is a segment where Lieber showcases current inventions that are useful, of significant value to society, or are simply humorous. FAK (which stands for Facts And Knowledge) is a segment about trivia always consisting of one main topic. BiDiPi (which stands for Build it, Draw it, Play it) is a segment where things that were built and drawn by people from all around the world including Vsauce fans are submitted to Vsauce and the best ones are showcased on the show. 54321 is a segment where Kevin covers four topics, each having one, two, three, or four things related to each other according to order shown, giving a short summary of each, and then ending with five-word problems or riddles. WAC (Weird Awesome Crazy) is a segment that focuses on people who participate in unusual activities from around the world.[36] BOAT stands for Best of All Time, a segment in which Kevin presents lists of, as the segment name implies, the best word plays, best flash mobs, best pranks, etc.[37]Weirdos of the Month display's people with habits Kevin finds weird, using the tagline "Everyone has a little weird in them."

Thought Glass is another recurring segment where several topics within a theme, such as school facts or ancient medical practices, are posted to a glass pane and discussed. In earlier episodes, assorted topics were posted to the pane and a final subject was revealed through a rebus.[38]GRUB is a segment detailing strange and unusual foods.

Vsauce2 also created three April Fools joke segments. PAB, which stands for People Are Boring, was released in 2013; in which Kevin treated normal, everyday events like they were unusual. Noggin' Blow was uploaded in 2014, parodying the Mind Blow segment by showcasing items popularized in the 1940s and 1950s. In a parody of BiDiPi, titled BiDiPiGiFiTiWiPiBiCiMiFiDiFiTi and released in 2015, Kevin shared a mixture of parodic nonsense and actual scientific studies and phenomena.

Vsauce3[39] is a channel that is dedicated to fictional worlds, as well as video games.[34][40] There are currently 5 recurring segments: HeadShot, Game LÜT, App All Knight, 9bit, and Fact Surgery. This channel is hosted by Jake Roper.

HeadShot is a segment that discusses video games and how they are connected to real life, and the science that is in these games. Game LÜT displays merchandise pertaining to video games. App All Knight talks about new apps that can be bought on the App Store or Google Play. 9bit details facts about video games. Fact Surgery dis-assembles a video game system as trivia about said system is shown.

D.O.N.G[20] (Do Online Now, Guys) is a spin-off channel by Vsauce that features pages, apps, and games from around the Internet, which the presenters consider interesting. D.O.N.G was formerly featured on the main Vsauce channel and then the Vsauce3 channel before its own channel was launched in 2015, with the first video being uploaded on October 29, 2015. D.O.N.G also features LÜT, a segment formerly featured on the Vsauce2 channel, which shares various products that can be found and bought online. It also includes Nicholas Fung and Nikki Price as writers and hosts of some of the videos by D.O.N.G.

Michael, Kevin and Jake all have their own personal YouTube channels: pooplicker888 [1], KevinLieber [2], and OFFICIALjakeroper [3], respectively. However, Michael's channel has been inactive since 2011, most likely because he gave up on vlogging and focused solely on making Vsauce videos.[citation needed]

As of November 25, 2015, Jake revealed he has sarcoma, a rare type of cancer.[42][43] On December 19, Jake announced that he had begun treatment and a tumor on his lower leg had been successfully removed by surgery.[44]

Except for BiDiPi and some of Vsauce's older videos, the music has always been composed mostly by Jake Chudnow,[45] not to be confused with the host of Vsauce3. Since mid 2014, Vsauce also uses music from the public domain music site audionetwork.com. Since early 2015, Vsauce2 also uses music by Aiur,[46] notably the song FoxTrot.

Jake Chudnow and Michael Stevens are friends, and have known each other from when they both worked at BarelyPolitical, and Jake also made much of the music in the earlier "The Key of Awesome" music videos. Because of this, Chudnow gives Vsauce exclusive rights to all his music, and all three Vsauce channels use his music in their videos. One of the most recognizable pieces of his music is Moon Men, it is used in the original Vsauce channel and is often played whenever Michael Stevens poses a mysterious question or makes a mysterious statement, often the main question of the episode. Other pieces of music used in the main channel (and some in the others) include "145-(Poodles)", "Sunday", "It's Good to be D", "Hydrogen", "Darwin", "Carlin Dream", "Lions Tigers and Apes Part II", and "Shona", and are often played when the audience are encouraged to think. "Turqoise" is often used, usually when big, astonishing, or otherwise significant facts or ideas are mentioned. "Flan" is often used for sad or abstract facts. "Rainstorms and Rainbows (I Am the Hero)", "Going Down", and "Flan" as well, are common songs played at the closing of videos. "192-1", "White", "For You", "Meet Men and Party (All Night)", "Banana", "Ducking", "Buildings and Bikes", and "Muff Mittens" are also often used in Vsauce 2 & 3.

In the video "The Moon Terminator Illusion", Chudnow's vinyl album "Shona EP", was the focus object against the wall when showing the visual effects of zooming and moving on near-objects (a Vsauce mug), and distant ones (the album).

It is thought that much of Chudnow's fan base (~70%+) found his music strictly through Vsauce, or are at least viewers of Vsauce, or BarelyPolitical in the past.[citation needed]

Vsauce has collaborated with Henry Reich of MinutePhysics on two videos: Guns in Space[30] and What if the Earth were Hollow?.[47] Vsauce has also collaborated with Periodic Videos[48][49] and Sixty Symbols,[23] chemistry and physics based channels both created by the video journalist Brady Haran. Vanessa Hill, of BrainCraft has appeared on the video, "Math Magic". As aforementioned, Bill Nye appeared on a Vsauce video in September 2012.[17] On February 28, 2013, Michael Stevens appeared on James May's "Head Squeeze" YouTube Channel.[50] Stevens also spoke about the main Vsauce channel and topics he presents on the channel during a TEDTalk at TEDActive 2013.[51] Vsauce has also collaborated with Derek Muller of Veritasium.

Stevens has also appeared on The Mythical Show and Ear Biscuits where he was asked random questions by Rhett and Link.[52] He also has appeared in a few Barely Political videos and is well recognised as the Bearded Nun.[53] Michael Stevens also made an appearance in Travel Channel's "America Declassified" for "The Quiet Zone" episode[54] and on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.[55]

In 2014, Jake of Vsauce3 had narrated two episodes of the series Did You Know Gaming? covering the Game Boy.[56][57] Vsauce3 has collaborated with AsapSCIENCE on the video Can You Genetically Enhance Yourself,[58] with BrainCraft on Is Mario Really Evil?[59] and with Matthew Santoro on What if Quicksilver Ran Past You?;[60] and has featured celebrities such as Paul Rudd,[61] Jack Black[62] and The Muppets.[60] Jake also appeared on AsapSCIENCE in the video Can We Genetically Improve Intelligence?[63]